After the first two articles on rules and tools, I felt that
this article should address transporting venomous reptiles. For if done
improperly, can potentially lead to many types of peril, as I will
point out some of the hazardous methods I've encountered.
Over the years, I've seen some truly horrendous methods of moving
hot stuff and I must say that I'm surprised that nothing got loose or
someone got bit or both. For a perfect example of what I'm talking
about, let me tell you about an episode that could have been
disastrous had we been in a car accident without a proper container:
In the mid-80's, a well known herper and myself were in a taxi,
headed to a farmhouse just outside the city to pick up a huge,
near-record size 8.5ft. Black-neck spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis).
The previous owner assured me that the snake would be properly
bagged and boxed in a wooden shipping crate, ready to go when I got
there. Upon arrival, we were rather dismayed to find out that he could
not find a bag large enough to contain or get this big, active cobra
into easily. What we were confronted with however, was a un-bagged huge
spitter, simply placed inside a large green Rubbermaid gabage pail with
the lid held on by four pieces of duct tape. And only 6" long pieces at
that! He stated that it was also the last bit of duct tape he had, but
it should hold till I got home with the snake.
After an angry and colourful verbal exchange, I cursed myself for
not coming prepared with a grab stick, hooks and face shield should
anything happen on the way home. So I took the pail holding my
magnificent new beastie and jumped in the back seat of the waiting taxi
for the 40 min. ride home.
In terms of driving skills, cabbies are an entity unto themselves.
Most are fast, aggressive drivers with little regard for safety and ours
was no exception, adding to my increasing anxiety. For the next 20
mins., every time we hit a bump or pothole in the road, the cobra would
let out a loud, whooshing cat-like hiss. And every time it did this, I
would see the driver look back nervously at the pail and then at me
while I was trying to keep my composure. A few more hisses later, he
finally asked me what the hell was making all that noise in the pail.
And playing on the layman's ignorance, I told him it was a big, ol'
nasty snapping turtle and he seemed satisfied with that as almost no
one is offended by the presence of a turtle, snapper or otherwise.
At about 10mins. from my house, this big cobra, with a head about
3" across and a body as thick around as my forearm, had decided he'd
had just about enough of this smelly pail and bumpy ride and suddenly
pushed up on the lid- HARD. So hard in fact that one of the pieces of
duct tape holding the lid promply gave way, but I just saw it out of
the corner of my eye and threw both arms over the lid to keep it in
place. And awkwardly there I stayed, draped over this garbage pail with
a big deadly snake inside it for the remainder of the trip, which
happily ended without incident.
But, you can see the possibilites for catastrophe here. Because the
snake was un-bagged with a cheesy container, that big and strong, and
if I hadn't been paying attention to that lid, we may have been faced
with a large loose cobra inside a moving car with three people in it
and no handling tools. NOT A PLEASANT SCENE!! Possibly even worse, we
could have been in an accident and suddenly have a large cobra loose on
the road with no handling tools to recapture it, if we weren't injured
ourselves!
Some other equally horrendous transport methods I've heard of:
- Moving a sub-adult pair of Cascabels in a taped-up six pack box.
- Carrying a sub-adult E.Diamondback rattler home on the bus,
bagged and wrapped in a towel, inside his parka in a snowstorm in Jan.!
- A guy bringing me an E.Massasauga inside a workboot.
- A drunken aquaintance of mine walking into a bank to cash a
cheque, and placing a scotch-taped paper bag(!) containing 2 Saw-scale
vipers on the counter in front of him(Yikes!)
- Transporting a large pair W.Diamondbacks in a styrofoam fish box
on the notorious Jane St. bus at 2 a.m. And then being hassled by three
gang punks who wanted to rob him of the box, only to flee in terror
after a sharp rap on the box produced the unmistakable sound that only
rattlesnakes are famous for!
As you can see, these are NOT the recommended methods of moving venomous snakes. The first error here is improper containers, the second are the modes of transportation. Lets examine them separately;
BOXING
Before consideration of the transport box, emphasis must be placed
on making sure the snake is securely bagged. Strong cloth bags, usually
pillow cases, are used and the keeper must make absolutely sure there
are no holes, frays or rips in the material no matter how small. No one
wants to have an unexpected surprise when they open the box at their
destination. Before bagging the snake, I hold the bag at the top with
one hand and forcefully run my finger of the other hand down the side
seams and push hard on the bottom corners, much the same as a snake
would do while in the bag. After getting the snake into the bag(which
is easier said than done with some species,another article maybe), make
sure the knot on the bag is TIGHT. Be sure while tying the knot to keep
your hands, arms and feet away from the end of the bag containing the
snake. Venomous snakes (especially viperids) can easily bite through
bags. This accomplished by first quickly twisting the bag shut (making
sure you don't twist the snake in with it!), and placing a snake stick
across the bag just behind the twist and holding it flat to the floor
with your foot while tying the knot. And (obviously) ALWAYS carry the
bag by the top BEHIND the knot.
Styrofoam fish boxes are almost THE universal reptile transport
container and come in many sizes, although 2x2x1' is pretty much the
standard. They're light and retain warmth(or coolness in summer), but
for the sake of these positive qualities they lack strength. They are
fairly sturdy, but one could easily punch or kick a hole in it, thereby
compromising safety.
A wooden box made from 1/2-3/4" plywood seems to be the way to go,
complete with a carrying handle, padlock latch, hinged lid, a couple of
1" or so ventilation holes covered inside and outside with fine steel
screening and if you really want to be fancy, some metal impact caps on
the corners. A box constructed as such would offer the strength needed,
but would offer almost zero insulation for temperature control.
A logical solution to this problem would be to combine the two
types of boxes together in a happy combo. The simplest way would be to
take exact measurements of the styro box and build your wooden box
around it. Or perhaps even simpler would be to modify a coleman-type
cooler with screened holes and a locking device.
A couple of final points to remember when packing snakes into your
box is to place cardboard dividers between bags if more than one snake
is going into it. This is to prevent the often stressed and probably
frightened snakes from biting each other. The long fangs of viperids
can cause fatal mechanical trauma to vital organs of another snake if
the bite is placed right. There is nothing more heartbreaking than to
arrive at your destination only to find one of your snakes dead or
dying from a bite from a fellow passenger because of one minute's
negligence on the keepers part.
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION
How you move the snakes is just as important as how you pack them.
In fact, it's probably more so. Because if there's any aspect of moving
venomous snakes that can invite possible disaster, this is it. Blunder
not, and all will be smooth sailing- er, driving!
Here's a list of things to remember:
* NEVER transport hot stuff on the public transit system. It
doesn't take an idiot to imagine the potential mayhem!
* ALWAYS transport by car. Make sure to place your box so that it's
not sliding around or can be tipped over during a sharp turn. On the
car's floor is good, or on the back seat strapped-in with the seat belt
is even better.
* DO bring along a couple of hooks or a grab- just in case.
* DON'T DAWDLE! Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to
home. This means not stopping for beer and leaving your car running out
side to keep the snakes warm. A car thief would be in for a nasty
surprise later on- and legally, so might you if the thief gets bitten.
I wish to close by saying that I hope these three articles shed
some light on hot keeping to new/potential keepers. I most enjoy
sharing my long-time experiences of venomous keeping with others and exchanging captive information.
Any questions or suggestions (and hopefully no flames or spam),
can be sent to me at:
mamba@geocities.com.
Response is encouraged!